Many manual and industrial jobs require an operator or worker to stand at a machine or station for long periods of time. Such standing causes fatigue, as well as stress and stiffness, particularly in the back and the legs. Such stresses can often lead to chronic back problems, and injuries due to stiffness and inflexibility.
Physical therapists and occupational therapists have spent many years studying the human body and physiology in attempting to provide a comfortable work environment with minimal stress and fatigue. One technique for persons who stand for long periods is to provide a foot support, allowing a worker to rest one foot on a raised platform, which helps relieve the strain of standing for a long time. The worker can shift from one foot to the other. Foot supports are well known and commonly used, an example being the brass rail common in bars and eating establishments.
While foot supports are a beneficial feature, the height of the foot support is problematic. Generally, a comfortable height for raising one foot off the ground varies from person to person. A standard "one size fits all" foot support simply does not provide a useful aid to people of different sizes and preferences. Taller people prefer a higher foot support than average or short people. Plus personal preference for a foot support height also varies. In a factory where many different workers use a machine or workstation, such as different work shifts, a foot support fixed at one height will not provide the best positioning for each worker.
Many adjustable foot rests are available, wherein the height of the platform for the person's foot can be raised or lowered to accommodate different requirements. However, many of the adjustment mechanisms are very difficult and time consuming to adjust. A worker often needs to remove connectors or wing nuts to adjust a height, or crank up or down a screw type mechanism, or even adjust a ratchet mechanism to raise the foot platform.
Even more problematic, a worker must often bend down to the foot support to manually adjust the foot support with their hands. A worker who must spend several minutes bent down to a foot support to adjust it would prefer simply not to bother. Especially in a factory condition, the floor where the foot support was located is probably dirty and poorly lit. If the machine produces debris, such as metal shavings from a drilling station, the floor area is very messy. Finally, many of these adjustable foot supports are not very sturdy, and will not survive long in an industrial environment, especially if complicated height adjustment mechanisms are included.